about the artist
Lars Boye Jerlach was born and grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark. After beginning his creative studies at Copenhagen Art School, he continued his education at Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland, where he obtained a BFA (Hons) and a MFA in Sculpture. Besides his individual practice Lars also works in the art partnership tectonic industries with the British installation artist Helen Stringfellow. As part of that partnership, Lars has exhibited widely in the USA, and in venues across Europe and New Zealand. After finishing art college, Lars moved to the USA and lived for more than a decade in Minneapolis, MN, followed by a year and a half in Auckland, New Zealand. He returned to the USA in 2014 and now lives and works in Portland, ME.
Artist CV and Selected Exhibitions
Education
1997-1999 Master of Fine Art, Sculpture, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
1994-1997 Bachelor of Art (Hons), Sculpture, Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
1990-1991 Copenhagen Art School, Drawing and Sculpture, Copenhagen, Denmark
1984-1988 Master of Library and Information Science (Music) University of Copenhagen,
Copenhagen, Denmark
Professional Experience
2022-present Associate Professor of Art, Southern Maine Community College, ME, US
2019-2022 Associate Professor and Program Director, MFA Visual Art, New England College, NH, US
2017-2019 Adjunct Lecturer in Sculpture, University of Southern Maine, ME, US
2014-2015 Adjunct Associate Professor, MFA Program, Maine College of Art, Portland, ME, US
2012-2014 Head of Department, Visual Arts, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New
Zealand
2005-2012 Associate Professor, Sculpture, University of Wisconsin-Stout, WI, US
2001-2005 Assistant Professor, Sculpture, University of Wisconsin-Stout, WI, US
1994-2000 Team Member, Exhibitions, Exhibitions Office, Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland
1996-1999 Bronze Casting Assistant, Centre for Continuing Studies, Edinburgh College of Art,
Scotland, UK
Grants and Awards
2022 Professional Development Grant, New England College, NH, US
2013 Research Grant, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
2013 Development Grant, AUT, Auckland, New Zealand
2010 Minnesota State Arts Board Media Arts Artist Initiative Grant (tectonic industries)
2010 Minnesota State Arts Board, St Paul, MN, US
2010 Art(ists) on the Verge 2 Fellowship Program (tectonic industries) Northern Lights
Minneapolis, MN, US
2008-09-11 Finalist: Jerome Foundation Fellowship (tectonic industries) MCAD/ Jerome Foundation Minneapolis, MN, US
2008 Finalist: McKnight Foundation Fellowship (tectonic industries) MCAD/ McKnight
Foundation Minneapolis, MN, US
2005 Science Museum of Minnesota Commission (tectonic industries), Awarded by the
Learning Technologies Center, Science Museum of Minnesota, St Paul, MN US
2004 Jerome Foundation Grant (tectonic industries), Awarded by the Jerome Foundation to
fund an installation Inside/ Outside Space XVII at Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis, MN, US
Other Relevant Experience
2023 Represented by Artly International, Fort Worth, Texas
2023 Guest Artist: Graduate Critique Class, the University of Maine, Orono, ME, US
2018 Juror, Maine Scholastic Art Awards, ME, US
2017 Guest Artist: Graduate Critique Class, the University of Southern Maine, ME, US
2015 Artist in the Visiting Artist Program, (tectonic industries)
University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, US
2015 Artist in the Visiting Artist Program, University of Southern Maine, ME, US (tectonic
industries)
2013 Invited Panelist on the topic of the distribution, collection, and ownership of New Media, The Annual New Zealand Art Fair, Auckland, NZ
2013 Presenter: The longer I sit, the less inclined I am to stand up. On the Image Conference, Chicago, IL, US
2013 Project Leader: Transforming Topographies at The Lab, 5th Auckland Triennial,
Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, NZ (Catalogue)
2010 Open Field Visiting Artist (tectonic industries) Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, US
2009 Inclusion in The How Not to Cookbook, Aleksander Mir, 2009 (tectonic industries)
2008-2009 Participating Artists: Midway Monster Drawing Rally (tectonic industries)
2008-2012 Vice Chair, The Soap Factory Board of Directors, The Soap Factory, Minneapolis, MN,
US
Solo Exhibitions
2023 ‘If you had followed the directive, you wouldn't be here’, (tectonic industries) McCarthy Art Gallery, St Michael’s College, Burlington, VT, US
2021 ‘If you had followed the directive, you wouldn't be here’, (tectonic industries) New England College, NH, US
2019 Dreams Can Come True (If it’s not working for you, you’re not doing it right) (tectonic industries) Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland Maine, US
2018 Dreams Can Come True (If it’s not working for you, you’re not doing it right, (tectonic industries) Burlington City Arts, Burlington, Vermont, US
2018The action of staying where one is, or delaying action until a particular event, (tectonic
industries) New England College, NH, US
2016 Looking back is a bad habit, (tectonic industries) University of Vermont, VT, US
2013 The Green, Green Grass… (tectonic industries) The Frontbox
St Paul Street Gallery, Auckland, NZ
2011 If it's not working for you, you’re probably not doing it right, (tectonic industries) Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN, US
2008 The desire to stay versus the inevitability of change (tectonic industries) Franklin Art
Works, Minneapolis, MN, US
2007 artDC [Special Project] (tectonic industries) [catalogue]
Washington Convention Center Washington, DC, US
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 New Frontiers in Art, (tectonic industries), New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts, Manchester, NH, US
2022 The View from Here, (tectonic industries), Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland, ME, US
2021 Notes from the back of beyond (tectonic industries), Roger Williams Gallery, Manchester, NH, US
2018 Biennial Exhibition (tectonic industries), Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockland,
ME, US
2014 White Night (tectonic industries) Te Tui Centre for the Arts, Pakuranga, Auckland, NZ
2012 Across Borders (tectonic industries), Bowling Green State University, OH, US
2010 Vertical Currency (tectonic industries), Rochester Art Center, Rochester, MN, US
2010 Art(ists) On the Verge 2 at Spark [catalogue] (tectonic industries), Regis Art Center University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, US.
2010 P/K Gallery Show #1 (tectonic industries), Petersen/Keller Architects, Minneapolis, MN, US
2010 Flat Line (tectonic industries), SELLOUT Gallery, Minneapolis, MN, US
With an interest in the theory and practice of minimalism, post minimalism, hard edge, and constructivism, and borrowing from familiar visual iconography, I explore the links between artificial, real, and constructed images. I question the way we situate ourselves in the world in relation to the history, images, narratives, and other information we consume, while employing a creative strategy that makes new interpretations of pre-established visual narratives possible.
In my most recent work, I explore the depiction and distortion of repeated imagery of brutalist architecture often used in contemporary cinematography and especially in sci-fi movies. In today’s context where technology has made it possible to recreate and manipulate any kind of architectural data into a series of visual representations, and we are in a continuous bombardment of visual imagery, I believe this creative investigation is particularly important.
While referencing and sometimes iterating the utopian images we all have experienced throughout our relatively short history, I offer a structured yet simple interpretation of the world we build around us, and a moment for the viewer to contemplate and reflect on their own situation.